Monday, December 5, 2011

University Researchers: Let's Dump Contaminated Soil into the Ocean!

Scholars who participated in the Ministry of Education's radiation mapping are proposing dumping the contaminated soil removed as the result of utterly useless "decontamination" efforts into the depth of the Pacific Ocean, 2000 meters deep.

(Along with some Russian nuclear subs, I guess.)

The researchers will propose their plan to the government as a practical solution to literally mountains of soil contaminated with cesium, plutonium, tellurium, radioactive silver, strontium...

And don't worry, the researchers did propose putting the soil in containers first.

Asahi Shinbun (12/5/2011) reports:

東京電力福島第一原発の事故で放射能に汚染された土を海に捨てる案が、一部の研究者の間で浮上している。除染のために削り取った土の保管・処分場所を確保することが難しいからだ。世論や国際社会の反発は必至だが、現実的な対応策の一つとして政府への提言を目指す。

An idea has surfaced among researchers to dump the soil contaminated by the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident into the ocean, as it is difficult to secure the storage space to store the soil removed in decontamination efforts. The idea will certainly be greeted with strong criticism from the public both domestic and international, but the researchers plan to propose it to the national government as one of the practical solutions.

 除染は、被曝(ひばく)線量が年1ミリシーベルト以上の地域は国の責任で行う。土壌を削り取り、各市町村の仮置き場に保管した後、福島県内につくる中間貯蔵施設に運ぶ方針だ。県内だけで1500万~3100万立方メートルの汚染土が出る見込み。最終処分の方法が決まらなければ恒久的に置かれることになりかねず、用地確保の見通しは立っていない。

Decontamination is the responsibility of the national government in the areas where the annual cumulative radiation exposure would exceed 1 millisievert. The plan is to scrape off the top soil, store it in the temporary storage areas in the affected municipalities, and then transport it to an intermediary storage facility to be built somewhere in Fukushima Prefecture. It is expected that 15 to 31 million cubic meters of contaminated soil will be removed within the prefecture. If the final disposal plan remains undecided, the intermediary storage could become permanent. The government hasn't secured the land to create the intermediary storage facility.

 こうした現状を踏まえ、文部科学省の土壌汚染マップ作成に携わった大阪大核物理研究センターの谷畑勇夫教授、中井浩二・元東京理科大教授らのグループが3日、大阪大で開かれた研究会で、深海への処分を提案した。海水で腐食せず高い水圧に耐えられる容器に汚染土を入れ、日本近海の水深2千メートル以下に沈める方法が最適とした。

Considering this situation, a group of researchers who participated in the soil contamination mapping by the Ministry of Education and Science, including Professor Isao Tanihata of Osaka University Research Center for Nuclear Physics and Professor Koji Nakai of Tokyo University of Science, proposed the deep sea solution in a workshop held on December 3 at Osaka University. The best method, according to the group, would be to put the contaminated soil in containers that would withstand corrosion and high water pressure, and sink the containers in the coastal water more than 2000 meters deep.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

What part of they don't own the ocean did they miss... Seafood is already contaminated up into tuna species that migrate long distances.

Ivan said...

7 nuke submarines lost at sea--5 Soviet/Russian, 2 US. 92 "known" cases of nuclear bombs lost at sea also.

Why to spend money on expensive decommissioning when letting sink into the sea is so easy? It's not just Japanese that know how to make economies.

Anonymous said...

Just ONCE, JUST ONCE, would like to see Areva post a headline shouting something like this:

University Researchers: Let's Dump TEPCO executives and useless government bodies into the Ocean!

Anonymous said...

Estos japoneses son totalmente gilipoyas

Anonymous said...

more like...están podridos...which big industry and governments in general.

Anonymous said...

Should read, ...which describes big industry and governments in general.

robertb said...

They should turn fukushima prefecture into a gigantic dump site. Relocate everyone from there. Compensate them for the loss of property and their livelihoods. Truthfully fukushima is uninhabitable. They're already burning trash. Spreading radiation all over the globe. It's tepcos and the government's fault. They should deal with it. Spare the rest of the world their nuclear waste. Which they are not doing by burning it.

Mauibrad said...

Japanese Govt. officials are literally killing their population with ignorance. This is becoming a genocide of ignorance and dishonesty in Japan.

Greyhawk said...

Is this TEPCO's idea of sharing? When one shares something it's supposed to be something good, not something deadly.

Anonymous said...

Japan (AKA TEPCO) is poisoning the air, land and seas. The lack of respect for the international community's health and well being--is arrogant and ugly. When will foreign nations say enough is enough and take action to protect their own citizens? Its TIME!

Anonymous said...

Isn't the biggest part of radioactive substances released by the Fukushima NPP already in the ocean? I doubt adding a few percent would radically change things.

Dumping the soil at a deep location where sediment build-up occurs should be safe, and unlike the stuff diluted in water would not enter the food chain.

mtthwbrnd@gmail.com said...

How about we pretend it is good for teeth and add it to the water supply?

Anonymous said...

dumping metal containers full of contaminated soil in an earthquake zone?

there are already 4 major dumping areas around japan with 4 smaller zones for "other" waste within the larger general waste zones.. situated about 200 km of the coast.. 2 of the north and east coast, one in the south and one in the north east.. are they adding another area or increasing the "other" sized dump areas..

been wondering how the east coast ones faired after the 2000 eathquakes and tsunami? if ther existing "other " waste is in containers, have they been tested for seismic shock fracturing??

questions questions??

Anonymous said...

Source: Maritime Safety Agency
Fig. 1-1-22 Wastes Dumping Areas in the Sea around Japan

“The Marine Pollution Control Law prohibits, in principle, the dumping of waste at sea. The disposal of specific types of waste is permitted if conducted according to designated disposal methods, and in designated areas (e. g. offshore at Boso, Shikoku, Sanriku and the Japan Sea) where the marine conditions are judged suitable for such disposal (Figure 1-1-22). According to a 1990 survey conducted by the Maritime Safety Agency on pollution levels in neighboring ocean waters where wastes are being disposed, water quality was at about the same level as before. and there was no particular worsening of pollution level.”

area A3 is likely to be effected

dumping area B within area A3 seems to be centred on a large unnamed seamount east of MAIKO seamount

the area of dumping area A within area A3 extentends a little beyond that and moves down to the NOGI seamount.. at least to the right slightly where there are two unnamed mounts…

as area A4 seems on a more shallow plane i have to wonder about the effects of the earthquake and tsunami on this dump site too..

http://www.env.go.jp/en/wpaper/1992/eae210000000000.html#1_1_1_3

Anonymous said...

please , please , for the love of this planet and all it's flora and fauna - this evil madness has to be stopped.

let's find a way to prevent even greater disaster.. although it all looks lost, frankly.

One of Japanese, an endangered species said...

Please help us! We will lose our land!

Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto is going to accept contaminated debris from the disaster area as Tokyo did. Now the radiation level of Tokyo area is getting higher and higher.
If Osaka starts burning contaminated debris and dumping the soil into the ocean, all our land will be radioactive contaminated.

Our government is not understanding the danger of burning and dumping radioactive materials.

Could anyone please explain the danger of it to Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto?

Anonymous said...

Nothing to see here, move along. Bill Gates is working with China on a new idea.
http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/Gates-teams-up-with-China-to-build-nuclear-reactor
And no worries, there is still money to be made when there actually is an Immediate harm to human health.
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2011/11/08/rxbio-nabs-15-million-federal.html
Oh well...

Anonymous said...

Any container not strong enough will be crushed by the humongous pressure in the bottom of the ocean.

When that happens that will be the end of the food chain in the Pacific Ocean.

Please don't dump the radioactive soil into the ocean. Put them into lead containers and store them in Fukushima, which is already dead zone anyway.

Anonymous said...

as Russians would say, I guess it all makes sense.

Anonymous said...

Pravda

Anonymous said...

Great idea. Dump that crap just like in the Love Canal.

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